Property Blog

Landlord Guide On Protection Against Bad Tenants

27 Aug 2010 / Marketing & Finding Tenants / 9 Comments

In this crazy world someone decided to make a profession out of being a “bad tenant”, and like all crazy ideas, it caught on. These “professional bad tenants” are ruthless as they are ugly. They go from property to property without paying any rent, and they successfully do it for a living, leaving behind a [...]

Surrender Of Tenancy Letter

23 Aug 2010 / Tenant Advice / 3 Comments

Unfortunately, on Friday, I received a surrender of tenancy from the best tenants’ I’ve ever been privileged enough to have. It was a fatal blow. The prospect of trying to fill their shoes seems like a difficult task, which I’m not looking forward to tackle. Over the 2 years they’ve been my tenants I didn’t [...]

Is My Landlord Entitled To Go Through My Underwear Drawer?

19 Aug 2010 / Ranting Landlord / 20 Comments

Earlier today I was reading a very serious blog post by Renter Girl. She discussed a few of the distressed phrases tenants had typed into a search engine to land onto her website. Here are some of the searched phrases: “I’m afraid of my landlord.” “…my landlord comes round unannounced.” “My landlord threatens me.” “Is [...]

How To Make A Complaint Against A Letting Agent

17 Aug 2010 / I Dislike Estate Agents / 15 Comments

Yes, I have a degree in art. And no, I don’t want to talk about it. Are you dealing with a shitty letting agent? Do you feel they have provided you with a poor service? Strangling the greaseballs may seem like the most tempting option, but unfortunately, there are procedures… Option 1: Make a complaint [...]

Would You Manage Your Properties If You Had A BTL Empire, Or Would You Employ A Monkey Letting Agent?

13 Aug 2010 / Good & Bad Landlord Practices / 6 Comments

Most of you are probably blissfully unaware, but last week I released my very first eBook. It’s called “Death of The Agent“; it’s a detailed guide on how to find tenants without a letting agent. It’s aimed at novice landlords, but suitable for anyone that wants to give me money (It costs £3.99). I didn’t [...]

Free Tenant Credit Check Service For Landlords

11 Aug 2010 / Landlord Money & Saving Costs / 0 Comments

A few weeks ago I put up a link to a free service that allows landlords to market their vacant BTL on the biggest property portals online e.g. Rightmove. Well, here’s another free offer I most recently found… The other day I came across a company called Discount Letting that is currently offering a Free [...]

Funny Shit Friday – DSS Tenant Demands Apology, But Walks Away With I.T Advice

06 Aug 2010 / Ranting Landlord / 8 Comments

Welcome to the 2nd episode of “Funny Shit Friday”. I genuinely didn’t think this would go further than the pilot episode, but it turns out there’s still life left in the old beast yet. For those that missed the opening episode, you can catch it here, Funny Shit Friday – Houseshare Opportunity For A Sterile [...]

One Rental Property, Two Different Price Tags

03 Aug 2010 / Tenant Advice / 1 Comment

A friend of mine is currently going through the excruciating process of mulling through a buttload of vacant BTL’s, hoping to find his ideal 1 bedroom bachelor pad. The guy is 36 and still rocking hard, with no intentions of settling down. Respect. Of course, his overused dick will probably turn green and drop off [...]

Funny Shit Friday – Houseshare Opportunity For A Sterile Hobbit That Isn’t Adverse To Crime

30 Jul 2010 / Ranting Landlord / 1 Comment

I’ve decided to start a new weekly (or perhaps bi-weekly) phenomenon called “Funny Shit Friday” It’s all pretty self-explanatory. I’ll essentially post shit I consider to be funny on a Friday. I’m hoping this brain child of mine will take my website to the next level of awesomeness. However, if it doesn’t take off (or [...]

FACT: Landlords Refusing DSS Tenants Is Well Justified

27 Jul 2010 / DSS Tenants / 13 Comments

Did anyone read the Daily Express newspaper on Saturday, 24th July, 2010? The front page was dedicated to rogue DSS tenants and how much they cost taxpayers. I’ll get onto the details shortly, but first let me swing my embarrassingly tiny penis around and have a bitch… I’ve openly had several outbursts about how and [...]

6 Tenancy Agreement Facts That Are Bullshit

21 Jul 2010 / Landlord Legal Obligations/Issues / 9 Comments

1) You can’t let a property without a signed Tenancy Agreement Landlords don’t need a written Tenancy Agreement in order to legally let their property, although it is strongly advised. A tenancy Agreement can actually be an oral agreement, but it’s an extremely unsafe option. Generally, if a tenant pays less than 50k per year [...]

What Is “The Housing Act 1988″?

16 Jul 2010 / Landlord Legal Obligations/Issues / 0 Comments

Anyone who’s a landlord or tenant may have come across the term “The housing Act 1988″, it’s usually referenced multiple times in Tenancy Agreements Essentially, the act is the law which governs the Private Rented Sector. It’s the rule book covering the statutory rights and legal responsibilities for both landlords and tenants. This is NOT [...]

I Use Facebook To Reference Prospective Tenants

13 Jul 2010 / Marketing & Finding Tenants / 3 Comments

All landlords should be embracing the internet and taking advantage of all the free tools out there! EVERY landlord can prosper through the internet in one or the other; some times it’s just a case of thinking outside the box! Facebook isn’t designed to be a human directory, but that’s what it effectively is, and [...]

My Tenant Is A Lazy, Worthless, Greasy Kebab

08 Jul 2010 / Ranting Landlord / 10 Comments

Ok, so remember the other day when I was talking about how my tenant was vacating, and how it was difficult for me to take viewings because of his shit-crazy taste in furniture? You guys remember, right? Well, you also may remember that I said besides from his alien grasp of interior design, he was [...]

Here’s A FREE Marketing Website Every Landlord Should Use To Find Tenants

05 Jul 2010 / Marketing & Finding Tenants / 5 Comments

Chaps, good news, I’ve come across a cool new marketing service that is 100% FREE for landlords. But that’s not the best part; from the money we save, we can buy an extra bucket of chronic and blaze. Win/win situation, right? The negative (if you can call it that) about this service is that it [...]

This Is How Important Images Are When Marketing A Rental Property

28 Jun 2010 / Marketing & Finding Tenants / 9 Comments

It still amazes how many landlords/agents advertise properties on websites like Gumtree without using images. That shit should be criminal. There really is no excuse. Even if you don’t have pictures of the property, it takes a minute to snap a few. And in this day and age, even tooth brushes come with cameras attached [...]

My Tenant’s Disgusting Taste In Furniture Has Ruined My Life

24 Jun 2010 / Ranting Landlord / 12 Comments

Right, so the other day I took a viewing, right? I already discussed how I refused a DSS tenant that was my friend. Ok, well that was only one half of the sorry tale, I was saving the other half for a separate blog post (this one)… My initial plan, as prearranged with the current [...]

I Refused A DSS Tenant Who’s Also My Friend

19 Jun 2010 / DSS Tenants / 5 Comments

I’ve slowly started to spread the word amongst my friends, family and those people I know, but don’t really know, about the vacant property I’m shortly due to be in possession of, due to my current tenant giving me notice a few weeks ago. I mentioned I was going to use various websites to market [...]

The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Periodic Tenancies

14 Jun 2010 / Good & Bad Landlord Practices / 6 Comments

The other day I wrote a blog post about how my selfish tenant has decided to abandon me and my property by unexpectedly giving me notice. That obviously wasn’t the best news in the world to receive since he’s genuinely a nice chap, and an awesome tenant. Urgh. What a limp-dicked, cock-stain. How could he [...]

Interview With The Angry HIP Consultant

10 Jun 2010 / Ranting Landlord / 20 Comments

For those of you unaware, a few weeks ago, the newly formed Coalition Government scrapped the Home Information Packs (HIPs). Unsurprisingly, most people were more than pleased to see the back of them. The added cost of selling a house just didn’t make sense for vendors and estate agents! But on the flip-side, there are [...]

My Tenant Gave Me Notice While I Was On Holiday

07 Jun 2010 / Ranting Landlord / 7 Comments

For those of you who don’t know, I’ve been in Vegas for the past 2 weeks; soaking in the sun, drinking extortionately priced cocktails and ogling at beautifully slutty women. It was great. And now, it’s disgustingly depressing to be back as reality starts to set in… While I was away I received a missed [...]

Is This Online Letting Agent Advert Distasteful?

31 May 2010 / Ranting Landlord / 3 Comments

A few weeks ago I saw a Tweet from @ffields saying the following: @ffields Distasteful ad as seen in Landlord and Buy-to-let magazine, death always sells? [link to advert] Here’s the advert from Letting Match: Is it distasteful? What do you think? I don’t know if it’s distasteful or not because my humour is pretty [...]

This Is How I Helped My Friend Avoid Paying A Tenancy Renewal Fee

24 May 2010 / Tenant Advice / 5 Comments

It was only a few weeks ago that I was having a mental ejaculation about how I thought it was unfair that tenants are charged admin fees and renewal fees, so it’s pretty good timing that this whole incident occurred. Quick reminder of why I believe Tenancy Renewal Fees are unfair Yes, i’m a broken [...]

My Tenant Wants Me To Pay £300 For A New Curtain. She Must Be On Crack

18 May 2010 / Ranting Landlord / 17 Comments

Yesterday, I facetiously mentioned on Twitter about how one of my tenants’ wants me to pay a ludicrous £300 for ONE poxy curtain. Since I have a spare 20mins right now, I thought I may as well set the scene and overdramatise the situation by writing this pissy little blog post. Horrray! So, I went [...]

This Country Would Be Awesome For Landlords If I Was In Control

12 May 2010 / Ranting Landlord / 5 Comments

I’m not big on politics, for many reasons, but mainly because it’s bullshit. I heard some snotty chump on the news the other day saying that he thought democracy was a beautiful thing, and that’s why our country is beautiful. He was getting erect by the queues of people lining up outside polling stations to [...]

Techniques Tenants Can Use To Avoid Letting Agent Fees

07 May 2010 / Tenant Advice / 6 Comments

The other day I ranted about how I think it’s unfair that high-street letting agents Charge Tenants An Admin Fee for simply being a consumer. It’s those kinds of fees that will probably be the fall of letting agents because these days it’s so easy for landlords and tenants to make a connection without the [...]

Ajay Ahuja Has Threatened To Take Legal Action Against Me

04 May 2010 / Ranting Landlord / 11 Comments

Oh shit, here we go again. I have another potential legal battle on my hands. Brief Bio on Ajay Ahuja Ajay Ahuja is known in the BTL industry by many people for his £15m property empire, which he started with just £500. He’s also known for his property sourcing company, The Ahuja Group, which sources [...]

Ajay Ahuja Gets Investigated By Undercover Sky News Journalists

30 Apr 2010 / Ranting Landlord / 1 Comment

Oh dear, it seems Ajay Ahuja has been investigated again, but this time by a pair of cheeky undercover journalists from Sky News. The report was aired yesterday evening, but on the 18th of April, Ajay mentioned something about it on his blog, so I knew it was in the coming. It was only a [...]

Why Do Letting Agents Charge Tenants An Admin Fee?

27 Apr 2010 / Tenant Advice / 35 Comments

I’ve never understood this, so I’m hoping someone kind, gentle and sexy can shed some light onto the matter… Most high-street letting agents charge both tenants and landlords fees, which actually makes no sense to me. I understand why agents charge landlords, but why the tenants? It’s like car dealerships charging someone a premium for [...]

Quick Guide On Landlords And Pets

25 Apr 2010 / Property Investment Tips & Info / 2 Comments

Over the past 4-5 years, I’ve only had one tenant with a pet (which was a dog), and that was because it was forced upon me. Initially, my tenant didn’t move in with the mutt, it happened a year or so after she moved in. One day I got a frantic phonecall from my tenant [...]

The Council Stopped My DSS Tenant’s Benefits, I’ll Probably Starve To Death Now

21 Apr 2010 / DSS Tenants / 3 Comments

Earlier today, my one and only long-term faithful DSS tenant called me to explain how the council had suspended his benefits because the Tenancy Agreement fixed-term had ended. I was left wondering, so what if the fixed-term has ended? Why would a tenancy agreement need to be renewed when the current one is still perfectly [...]

Guys, Want To Live With A Creepy Homosexual In A Trendy Part Of London, Rent Free?

14 Apr 2010 / Ranting Landlord / 6 Comments

Earlier today I was pointed in the direction of an extremely creepy ad listing on Gumtree. Here it is: Do you fit the description? Are you male, aged between 18 – 25, and masculine? If so, Pete is offering you an opportunity to live RENT FREE in a very trendy part of London. Really though, [...]

Gavin And Stacey Meet An Overly Stereotyped Estate Agent

11 Apr 2010 / I Dislike Estate Agents / 3 Comments

Any Gavin and Stacey fans up in this bitch? Last week I got my hands on the “Gavin And Stacey” boxset. Prior to getting the boxset, I had never seen an episode, but I had heard great things about the show, and the comic genius that is James Corden (A.k.a Smithy). I quickly worked through [...]

Why The Fuck Do The Council Side With Rent Dodging DSS Criminals?

08 Apr 2010 / DSS Tenants / 14 Comments

Why is it that when a DSS tenant fails to pay rent the local council ADVISE them to stay in the property until they are able to be legally evicted? A landlord cannot serve an eviction notice until a tenant is 2 months in arrears, and from my experience, the council are only too eager [...]

5 Reasons You Don’t Need To Bitch-Slap An Estate Agent

06 Apr 2010 / Property Comic Sketches / 1 Comment

Tenant Reference Form

02 Apr 2010 / Landlord Forms / 2 Comments

I previously wrote down a small List Of Tenant Credit Check Services and briefly mentioned why I think they’re worth performing on prospective tenants. The two main reasons are because they’re cheeeeeeep and they can reduce your risks of accepting problematic tenants, and alert you to potential problems before an applicant signs a Tenancy Agreement. [...]

List Of Tenant Credit Check Services For Landlords

24 Mar 2010 / Good & Bad Landlord Practices / 2 Comments

Do you bother credit checking prospective tenants? I never used to because I could never be bothered, but as I gained more experience, I realised there are a lot of undercover shitheads out there that are itching to make a sucker out of everyone. Granted, credit checks aren’t bulletproof, they won’t guarantee “perfect tenants”, but [...]

Estate Agent Uses Shitty Marketing Angle To Entice Homeowners To Sell

16 Mar 2010 / I Dislike Estate Agents / 5 Comments

So, check it out. I received this letter through the post the other day from Savills estate agent: I have a house in Bishop’s Stortford, and according to the letter, Bishop’s Stortford has great schools. Savills estate agent used that as an angle to entice home owners into selling their properties. I don’t get it. [...]

Tips For DSS Tenants That Can’t Find A Property To Rent

08 Mar 2010 / DSS Tenants / 34 Comments

I’m usually writing about DSS tenants in bad light, but that’s because I’ve had shitty experiences with them. However, I know there are a lot of genuinely decent DSS tenants out there struggling to find landlords and letting agents that will accept them because of the damage the piss-taking DSS tenants have inflicted. It would [...]

Why You Shouldn’t Always Trust Your Estate Agent

04 Mar 2010 / I Dislike Estate Agents / 5 Comments

Updated Article: 04 -03 – 2010 I was engrossed by an article I was reading on the BBC website the other day, The Secret Agent, which surfaced a few of the ill practices estate agents embraced in their day-to-day profession. The worrying part was that not all these tactics were deployed by the odd rotten [...]